2011 was another great year for video games and a year that I FINALLY got a good computer to play current titles on...so here is my top 10 list
Before the list, I want to acknowledge a couple games that I didn't have enough time to play through but thought they deserved mentions: Skyrim, Star Wars The Old Republic, Cave Story+, and Witcher 2.
I wish there was a camera crew documenting the making of this game. I think this will eventually go down as the 'Apocalypse Now' of video games. While it was hellish and maddening creating this, the end product is amazing. While it is easy to be blown away by it's face acting graphics, the attention to detail when it came to the world really won me over. A street accurate LA, proper era cars and buildings, and proper costuming really helps the argument of video games are equal to movies. I had so much fun going through the cases, working through the seedy underbelly of the city, and feeling like I was playing in a unknown film of that era.
The dark horse of the list, in the beginning of the year I had no interest in playing this game. After watching trailers of the insanity and how the guys on the bombcast were loving it, I had to give it a shot...I'm glad I did. This game had the most unadulterated fun in a game this year. While it was crazy and over the top, it was well designed and very funny. I commend the team at Volition for not just making a crazy game but going the distance in every facet of design to really make it something more. Just listen to the crib menu music to see the extra polish they give to the game. Saints Row also has the best licensed music in a game and has a great score as well.
Bastion is a breath of fresh air in a game market bloated with sequels and copycats. Bastion gives you a retail boxed quality game for the price of downloadable. I still listen to the Bastion soundtrack on a weekly basis and still get shivers listening to the end credits song. Bastion is a game that works beautifully and it's because all it's components are strong and work together like clockwork.
Portal 2's story shines as bright as it's predecessor. Amazing writing and voice acting kept me engaged in the story and laughing most of the way. Add 2 different campaigns for single and co-op makes this game more and more endearing. While they added extra components to the puzzles it did not overwhelm and they were fun to figure out. Having fun with science has never been this great.
I was concerned with Arkham City, how could this title compete with Arkham Asylum's success? Arkham City was against the odds but I think did a great job of fixing and refining parts of the previous game while building the world. It is one of the few games that you feel like the character when you control them.
Having Uncharted 3 this low on my list shocks me. I mainly attribute this to sequel fatigue. Uncharted 3 hit on the same cylinders as it's predecessor but I think it did not go above it. I enjoyed the closure the story gave and I still have attachments to all the characters (I love you Sully), but I felt desensitized through most of it. I still want to go back and play more multiplayer.
I have loved Gears throughout the years mainly for it's co-op campaigns and horde mode. With the addition of 4-player co-op and an updated horde, Gears 3 was exactly what I was looking for. The campaign had great closure and the character seemed less like meat heads and more human....humans that are still freakishly huge. I also give this game possibly my favorite quote in a game this year.
POWER is how I would describe this game quickly. This game gives me anxiety because of the way it has you use your unmeasurable power. Infamous 2 introduced two new side characters that beautifully showed the struggle of corruption and responsibility. Do you take the more fun and destructive route while forsaking and killing thousands or do you take the more challenging and less rewarding path? A great game about the human condition wrapped in a comic book shell with platforming will always have a place on my lists.
I was a huge fighting game fan as a kid/teen, but I never enjoyed Mortal Kombat. I thought it was a garish barnacle on the fighting boom. I played it from time to time but never got into it. I gave the new game's demo a try on a boring night and was surprised in the fun I had. Tight controls, great graphics, and more importantly a blast to play. Mortal Kombat has the BEST single player story for any fighting game I've played. It's very smart to make the player switch characters to fight player boredom and to familiarize them with all their moves. I feel in love hard with this game, while never gathering the courage to take it online, I had a great time playing local multi and even going through all 300 levels of the challenge tower.
Dead Space was a series that I enjoyed it's world more than it's actually game. I enjoyed the audio, story, and world creation but hated the repetitive nature and misfires that the original game had peppered in it. Dead Space 2 is a much better game and a very strong sequel. It was one of the best looking games I played, refined it's pacing, and still had everything I loved in the original. The multiplayer wasn't great but not offensive. I am excited to see what the next Dead Space will be like, I'm hoping it will be more different before it gets too stale.
